The Internship
by stevehatesbirds
Summary: Marie got the most prestigious internship available to her but not the one she wanted. What happens when she finds two battered men instead of the knowledge she wanted? (Hints at unrequited Bruce/OC and unrequited Tony/OC. First in a series with eventual pairings.)
1. Chapter 1

_ATTN: All Undergraduates  
__RE: Internship Results_

_Students,_

_Your internship placements have been posted.__  
_

_To those of you who didn't get placed, remember-__  
_

Marie didn't read any more, simply scanned for the link to the decisions. She crossed the fingers on her left hand and used the pointer finger of her right hand to click open the link.

**Congratulations!  
****You have been placed with**

**…..****  
**

STARK INDUSTRIES

NEW YORK, NY, USA

**…..**

**You will be working under**

**…..**

ANTHONY STARK

AND

DR. ROBERT BANNER

**…..**

**On**

**…..**

NOT SUPPLIED

* * *

Marie was crushed.

Her heart dropped into her stomach (that would explain the ill feeling anyway) when she realized she didn't get into the internship she wanted- one that would have sent her across the world instead of across the country. She wouldn't be in Africa building wells, she'd be in New York City building… what now?

'_Not supplied'? What does that mean anyway?  
__I know I'm a physics- well, physics and biochemistry- major, not engineering like they wanted, but still? A lab?__  
_

She dejectedly walked to the convenience store down the street from her ratty apartment to buy overpriced ice cream.

Shuffling back, she resigned herself to a year working under two stiff, probably ancient, doctors.

Wait! That lead guy doesn't even have a doctorate!

She ate half the carton as she watched Golden Girl reruns.

Until she reached a certain episode.

An episode where Betty White's character learns to be… assertive.

_I can be assertive!_

She pumped her fist in the air and thought,

_Easy, I'll fix this with my advisor._

Her roommate, Lucas, cleared his throat and Marie sheepishly lowered her arm to its previous position.

* * *

"Marie, this is the single most prestigious internship offered to science majors! It's usually offered to individual physical and life science majors but they asked for you specifically-"

Marie opened her mouth to protest but her advisor cut her off.

"Stark Industries has worked on everything from the atomic bomb to the blackbird! And Dr. Banner? He's not only one of the top medical doctors in the country, but he is also a top researcher-"

Again, Marie opened her mouth. Again, her advisor cut her off.

"You know, he was up for the Nobel Prize in '02! How old were you? Nine, ten?"

At this point, Marie's mouth opened and closed like a guppy while she looked for somewhere to interject.

"Any other science student- hell, once you meet Mr. Stark you'll understand why every female student- wants in on this program!"

At last her advisor stopped for a second. Marie didn't have anything to say, she was resigned. But, her advisor continued on and on,

"Plus, you get to stay in a super nice apartment with everything paid for and…"

Marie stopped listening and watched her advisor's (apparently jealous) mouth open and close.

_So that's it: Stark Industries under Stark and Banner._

* * *

She had to admit, the apartment was nice. And it was even in Stark Tower, only a few floors from where she would be working- she wouldn't have to face any crowds unless she absolutely had to.

(In fact, she didn't have to face any crowds to get there, New York was turning out to be less stressful for her (at least in the sense of crowd-wise, than Chicago, where she went to school). A private plane brought her into a small airport whence she was taken to Stark Tower in a helicopter- she had never been so grateful not to be afraid of heights as when she saw the helicopter waiting for her.)

The apartment had a great view and was spacious and clean! It was well furnished in dark woods and reds and was apparently decorated by someone obsessed with Iron Man and-

_Is that a liquor cabinet?_

Marie didn't consider herself a drinker but, in reality, she was. At 18, she had difficulty procuring alcohol and rarely drank to excess, but she was known to enjoy a drink here and there.

She mixed herself a gin and tonic, noting how well the liquor cabinet and matching mini-fridge were stocked. She popped open the fridge in the kitchen, expecting it to be filled in the same fashion but found only a six pack of

_Dragon's Milk Stout?_

It apparently hadn't fit in the mini-fridge. At least there was a jar of olives.

Marie continued to explore the apartment.

_Two and a half bathrooms? In an apartment? In NYC?_

_Just how big is that TV?_

_Is that a Commodore 64? _

_That can't be an original recording of The White Album._

_Is that a… water bed?_

* * *

The last room she checked out was the master bathroom. On the vanity, next to the makeup that looked like it matched her skin tone, was a dress bag, some heels, a jewelry box, and a note.

**We're picking you up for dinner.**

**Wear this dress or you're taking the Greyhound back to Chicago.**

**Xoxo**

**Tony**

It didn't give a time and she wondered out loud.

"That would be nine o'clock Post Meriden, Atlantic Standard Time, Miss Weinstein," droned a British accent.

She spun around looking for someone and found herself holding one of the rather point shoes in defense.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph- where are you, fucker?"

"I'm right h-"

"WHERE?" She bellowed.

"If you'd-"

She ran into the adjoining bedroom.

As she peered around corners and shouted for helped over the voice trying to reason with her, a man with dark curly hair in a purple shirt ran in.

She wasted no time, and punched him in the face, grazing his nose. Next she flipped him over her and kicked out his legs.

He fell down to the ground, groaning.

Marie, breathing heavily with relief, started to calm down. The mystery man started talking from his sitting position on the ground- his lotus was impeccable.

"I'm Bruce. I'm not here to hurt you," he winced. "In fact, I heard you shout and came to find out what was wrong."

She lowered her guard-this guy was barely taller than her and, furthermore, as she cringed to realize, he was in the picture she had been provided of the team she'd be working in.

She helped him off the ground, apologized, and introduced herself, still a little skeptical.

"Oh, I know who you are."

"So you _are _one of the PhD students."

"Something like that," he said cryptically, wringing his hands and looking at his feet as he sat on the bed.

"Anyway, like I said- I'm Bruce and that," he pointed upwards, "is JARVIS."

"Um… the AC vents?"

"No, no! The voice," he smiled.

He gave a quick explanation of the AI this mysterious Tony (he must be one of the other PhD students) created for Stark Tower.

* * *

They found themselves chatting about the Judo she had used on him. Marie found herself thinking on how cute this guy- Bruce- was when he ran his fingers through his hair or wrung his hands, even with him holding a freezing bottle of Tito's to his face (no peas).

Bruce said he had to go get ready for something and Marie walked him out. He turned into an apartment down the hall.

She turned around to find her face in the literally glowing chest of a tall, dark haired man flanked by two gorgeous women.

"What are you doing? It's eight! You should have been showered and dressed by now."

She raised her eyebrow and blankly said, "You must be Tony."

He ignored her and continued to lecture her.

"I left you that dress hours ago and you got here at five!"

"Your point being what, exactly?"

"Miss Weinstein?"

"Not now, JARVIS," Tony and Marie chimed.

"Miss Weinstein," JARVIS continued, "may I present Mr. Anthony Stark?"

* * *

Marie could only manage and embarrassed "oh" while the two women giggled rather annoyingly.

She blushed, something she had never done before, "…please come in, Mr. Stark"

Mr. Stark smirked, something he did regularly, "thanks, doll face."

Once inside, with a scotch in one hand, pouring rather flowery drinks for the two women he came with, he continued.

"Anyway," he said, dragging out the "a", "get dressed, girl! Or we'll be late. Not that that's a problem, I booked the whole restaurant so, you know." He gestured to the two amazingly beautiful women he had come with. "These are your hair and makeup girls. They're here to teach you a bit about what you need to do now. My interns need to be almost as classy as me. Because being as classy as me just isn't an option. And your roommate, Lucas was it? Well, he told me all about you and your habits."

She was about to protest and ask just how many people he talked to about her when he pressed his finger to her lips.

"Later, sweetheart."

* * *

Marie fumed as she showered, though that might have been the heat beating on her. Now that she was here she had made a fool over herself in front of her new boss and, more importantly, that cute guy down the hall, she would be damned before she was sent home for not being 'classy'.

The dress was a perfect fit, of course, though a little shorter and lower than she would have chosen, not to mention, she would have never thought to match a red dress with a long gold and turquoise necklace; in fact, the whole ensemble reminded her of Iron Man. Since Mr. Stark had chosen the dress, he had probably helped decorate the room too.

The "Hair Girl" was obviously enamored by Mr. Stark, gave Marie's hair an elegant, sleek half-up style while the "Makeup Girl", also apparently enchanted by the, admittedly, good looking Mr. Stark, ended up choosing a gold and black smoky-eye.

Marie had tried these looks before but ended up with frizzy, knotted hair and something that resembled a 'black-and-blue-eye'. Whenever Marie tried dressing up, she looked like she had as a five-year-old in her mother's heels and pearls. This time she looked her eighteen years.

_Maybe even a little older!_

She hoped so anyway.

_After all, that cute- Bruce- looked pretty old for a PhD student._

The girls left her with some "helpful" tips and a few less shots of tequila.

* * *

Marie and Mr. Stark stood together as they waited for someone who was supposed to join them.

_Probably some woman._

"So," she said, dragging out the 'o', "who or where are the other interns, sir?"

"Other interns? What do you mean?"

Momentarily confused, Marie started to ask about Bruce when

_Speak of the devil!_

"I'm so sorry! I got lost in this fascinating report on Quantum Mechanics and Psychology! Utterly incredible findings."

Marie smiled at Bruce and his fumbling and he smiled back while running his right hand through his hair.

Mr. Stark cleared his throat, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything," he droned sarcastically.

"Oh no," Bruce said "she actually almost broke my nose, and definitely broke my ego, just about an hour ago."

Marie laughed nervously and then spoke with her hand on the back of her neck, "Mr. Stark, you were saying something about the other interns, if I recall correctly."

"Yeah, you're right. But, there are no other interns."

She looked pointedly at Bruce and Mr. Stark laughed.

"You mean Bruce? Marie, doll, let me introduce you to Dr. Robert _Bruce_ Banner."

There was a pause, Marie opened her mouth and let it hang until

"D-doctor Banner?" Marie paled.

"Yes," Bru- Dr. Banner said, "didn't I tell you my name?"

"No! You just-!" Marie decided she was over-excited and took a few deep breaths before speaking again, now much more respectfully, "No, Dr. Banner. But that's quite all right."

They left for the restaurant in relative silence with Mr. Stark trying to lighten the mood every few minutes only to be responded to with quiet sighs.

_This is going to be a _long_ year._


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N (5/9/2013): I needed to change the ending to this chapter. I realized I wanted to introduce what I did later on in the story so there's a new ending. The next chapter will be up later today or tomorrow. **

* * *

If the ride was tense, the meal was the Cold War. The restaurant was beyond fancy and the courses were teeny and just kept coming.

They headed home satisfied but confused by some of the courses- or at least Marie was.

It wasn't until Marie's third cup of wine that she started to lower her emotional guard, by her fifth she was talking. She knew she shouldn't be drinking but there was something so calming about not caring as much. Probably the whole not caring part.

Tony looked less and less like a kicked puppy as Marie got tipsy. Bruce looked concerned but seemed happy to see her relaxed.

"S-so, I barely know you-you guys but we're going to be working together for a fucking year, so we might as well get to know each-each-each-each other. If-if you know what I m-mean," she winked at Bruce and started laughing hysterically over the movie they had started watching when they got back. "Wink, wink, nudge, nudge, say no more?"

The men looked at each other and started laughing.

"Marie, you are Drunk with a capital 'd'," Tony quipped, then, Bruce said, more gently,

"Let's get you in bed."

* * *

Marie woke up the next morning (it _was _after midnight), the Sunday before she started work with Stark Industries, with a killer hangover.

She moaned. "How much did I drink last night?"

JARVIS responded, scaring Marie, who was still not used to him being there, "Mr. Stark requested three bottles of his finest be sent to the personal theater, indicating you would have drunk approximately one bottle. However, we must take into consideration-"

"I get the point, JARVIS. Too much."

"Of course, Miss Hewlett."

She moaned again and grasped for the kitchen cabinets. No cups. She walked, looking like Gollum, to the liquor cabinet.

_Thank God, glasses at long last._

As she drank her water, thankful the sun wasn't up yet-

God-motherfucking-damnit, is it really 2?

-Marie wrote a grocery list on the receipt from the overpriced ice cream. (It felt like so long ago, but in reality it had been just a couple short months.)

Tony, as she had started calling him again after a night of drunken debauchery-

_Could you even call it that? They made me feel so mature, so adult. And how did I repay them? By drinking all Tony's fine wine and probably puking in his fancy-ass Japanese toilet bowl._

She called for JARVIS to tell her where some

"Advil, Tylenol, Percocet, anything for pain!"

Was.

JARVIS informed Tony that Marie had asked for something as Tony had asked him to.

* * *

He knocked on her door and cracked it open. She sat with one light on, across the room from where she was. It was uncommon for him to be this kind to women- well, really, anyone but Marie intrigued him. She treated him with respect, but in a way no one ever did. It seemed Southern. She looked up,

"Do you ever sleep at night?"

"Not if I can help it, which is why," he paused, "I'm never without a woman." He waggled his eyebrows at her. She was having none of it, quickly grabbed the medicine he had in his hands, and began to push him towards the door.

"No, no! Don't make me go!" He was mock pleading but she knew he really wanted to stay.

"Fine," she said, rougher than she meant, "but you're staying quiet until this kicks in."

He suggested hair of dog and she play punched his arm.

"I'm a good man, woman," Tony said.

"And a good man to a woman?"

"Would that my car had the speed of your tongue"

Somehow they ended up tangled up in a pillow fort.

_This guy may be God-knows-how-old but he still acts like a child. Maybe this internship will be all right._

But she still would have given anything to be in Africa.

Neither of them knew how it happened, but there they were, kissing in the hallway for all to see. Not that many people lived in these apartments. Just Happy, Tony's chauffer and bodyguard; Pepper, his assistant; and a few other scientists lived here. And Bruce. Who happened to wake up late and opened his door to look down the hallway and see two very drunk people sloppily kissing.

"…Marie?"

The ensnared couple pulled apart.

"Tony?"

They looked at him, obviously embarrassed, then each other, and quickly pulled apart.

Marie couldn't believe she had gotten drunk enough to suck face with a guy old enough to be her father, much less one she barely knew. And one she'd be working with for the remainder of a school year.

Bruce was shocked. When he had brought up that he thought she was pretty (just something he said in passing while telling Tony about the JARVIS incident), Tony had called it cradle-robbing. Something about it made him feel a little sick.

Tony was very drunk and only cared that it had stopped.

* * *

"You know I'm not safe to be around. I have to leave.

"This is about Marie."

"NO!" Bruce roared. Tony backed away at the glint of green in his eyes and Bruce calmed down enough to talk again, "I'm not one of the good guys. Last time I was in New York, I sort of broke… Harlem. I saw you two under the guise of being some person living in the thirtieth floor apartments, but am hurt with the eyes of myself. I cannot hide what I am: I must be sad when I have reason to be and not smile at jokes, eat when I'm hungry and sleep when I'm tired. Tony, send me anywhere- to the poles of the antipodes or to get a hair from the Great Cham's beard, just not here. Not near her any more…"

"I'm not a good guy, I never said I was, but I am one of the good guys."

"Well, that's remarkable because I consider myself a fairly decent human being, but I am most definitely one of the bad guys."

"Fairly decent?"

"Yeah! I don't go around cradle robbing!"

It was Monday morning and Marie had left to get them all breakfast at 8, after they had been in the lab for two hours already. Bruce casually mentioned that he would be leaving for India in the next few days.

"Cradle robbing? Is that what you call it? I was drunk!"

"You always seem to be drunk or headed there, don't you?"

"What are you insinuating?"

"You know very well! I know about your flasks everywhere. You provided an EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD with alcohol in her apartment!" Bruce was getting worked up, his shirt had ripped in the back and his eyes were green.

Tony noted this and quickly apologized. Marie returned to the lab and slipped in without being noticed. Bruce calmed down with some deep breathing and his mantra (Om Mani Padme Om) and shrunk to his normal size, though looking small and a little broken. He started quietly talking again,

"You're the one who said it would be cradle robbing and she's only, what, nine years younger than me? You're old enough to be her father."

Marie cleared her throat. She had returned with one mocha Frappuccino for Tony, a cappuccino (no sugar) for Bruce, an iced black coffee for herself, and enough bagels, cream cheese, smoked salmon, and capers to last them all day.

"You know, I may have been drunk, but it was my choice too."

The two men looked sheepish, they had been fighting over her in essence and she had seen it all.

They each grabbed their drinks and food and headed towards their desks in silence.

Halfway through his bagel, Bruce looked up, "I won't go to India. I'll stay."

Tony seemed more excited than Bruce expected, "That's my Science Brother! Anyway, I wasn't going to bring it-"

"You were going to move to India?" asked a small voice. Marie was hurt; she didn't realize she had upset him.

"No, no! Well…"

"Oh, well, you know, do whatever you want or need to." Marie resumed her aloof nature but they had seen her vulnerable side, "um," she paused, "what did you mean by "one of the bad guys", Bruce? And what happened to your shirt?"

There was another awkward silence.

Bruce sighed and started to explain,

"Well, Marie… you see… I'm-"

Tony sent a quick glare at Bruce and interrupted him,

"It's no big deal, doll."

Bruce and Tony shared a look while Marie seemed confused.

"Yeah, I guess it's no big deal," Bruce ran his hand through his hair and looked at his feet.


	3. Chapter 3

And so they settled into a routine.

Marie discovered Stark Industries hadn't worked on weapons for years and was grateful. She learned new techniques for chemical reactions and ended up with more than a few battle scars, mainly from the mixture of rather strong acids and late nights.

She worked some days with Bruce and some with Tony, changing from moment to moment even. Occasionally they all worked together, particularly in late nights when everything seemed connected. Of course, the next morning, nothing they did made sense.

She wrote several grant applications for Bruce, who refused Tony's money for his research. She also helped Tony select who got his grants.

They ate from more delivery places than she thought possible, food from Ethiopia, India, and real China. However, once a week they all went out for a fancy meal. Tony called it practice and told them that it was to require them to shower and shave every once in a while.

The awkwardness came and went as Tony continuously, semi-jokingly hit on Marie and occasionally on Bruce. They never mentioned the kiss again.

##########

She was given free reign of the building. Except for the basement. You needed a key, number pad, retinal scan, and half a dozen other security measures to get in.

Wondering what was down there, she tried constantly. She gathered it was Tony's lair as when she brought it up with Bruce he actually told her something. When she asked Tony, he feigned ignorance.

_Yeah, right. Of course he pretends he doesn't know._

##########

Each day went like this with little variation:

Marie wakes up and leaves to pick up coffee and some sort of breakfast. She walks back to Stark Tower while drinking her Americano and then proceeds to Tony's bedroom, where she is one of the few who knows how to get in, and wakes him up with two glasses of water- one to pour on him and one to help him take the Tylenol he'll need to nurse his hangover.

She sits in the chair in his living room while he creaks himself out of bed, occasionally yelling when she knows he has fallen back asleep. She then proceeds to lecture him, questioning his ability to take care of himself, particularly once she's done with her internship. Tony begs her to stay as she force-feeds him his "tall skinny caramel dolce latte at 140".

They walk to the lab where Bruce is waiting, already reading one of the journals he gets. Tony makes a smart-ass comment and Marie glares at him. Bruce grateful accepts his Cappuccino (extra foam) and they sit down "as a family of a-dork-able nerds", as Tony puts it, to eat whatever breakfast Marie picked, ranging from bagels and cream cheese to chocolate croissants, always baked goods. They sit together and plan the week

Tony actively fights with the passive Bruce over who gets Marie to work with them each day.

If Marie is working with Tony, she heads down a floor to set up while he and Bruce discuss… well, whatever it is, she isn't exactly sure. Once she's cleaned up the mess Tony invariably left unless she was there the previously night. She pulls up

If Marie is working with Bruce, she heads into the main lab down the hall. She greets the lab techs and the few other researchers who trickle in, coming and going, never quite able to deal with Tony's random bursts into the lab to take them all out for "hookers and blackjack". That turns out to be drinks in one of the swankiest clubs in New York.

At lunch, they all head out to some random restaurant, each day cycling between Tony and Bruce with Marie getting to choose on Wednesdays.

They continue on whatever project they have set out for themselves.

The weekends are extremely boring to anyone but them. Tony sleeps in till an ungodly hour while Marie and Bruce continue their work. Occasionally Tony drags them to a night club but continued that practice less and less frequently as he realized Bruce wouldn't dance until completely drunk. He wouldn't do that and it wasn't an option for the nineteen-year-old Marie.

##########

One day, after a "battle" that Tony won, she headed into the lab and waited, and waited, and waited.

She got bored and started talking to JARVIS, trying to logic her way into getting "him" to let her into the basement levels. She had just started complaining, instead of attempting logic against the best AI the world had seen, when Tony finally walked in. He looked battered and beaten and very tired.

He sighed and then straightened up, "let's do this."

##########

When she checked her phone around lunch time, she noticed calls from some her cousins. She listened to their frantic voicemails but couldn't quite understand what they were saying. She lazily called one of her cousins,

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Oh my God, thank God you're alright! We've been so worried! Are you hurt?" He sounded frantic and Marie was confused.

"Seriously though, what's going on?"

"You haven't heard?"

"What?"

"The 'Hulk' is back in New York! He attacked right outside of Stark Tower!"

Marie was tired after having barely slept. Her cousin couldn't see her but this was obvious from the dark circles on either side of her hooked nose. She tried again.

"What are you talking about?"

"Marie! You could have died!"

"But I didn't...?"

He explained what happened. The Hulk had appeared out of nowhere in NYC and went on a rampage. No one was hurt but hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage occurred. He told her all about the anonymous fund given to the city in cases of attacks like this (as a city official himself, he was fascinated).

##########

"Why didn't you tell me about the attack?"

Marie dropped this in casual during their morning conversation.

The exhausted men visibly clenched uncomfortably. Marie noticed this,

"What's going on here?"

Tony was the first to react, "it's nothing, doll." He put on his relaxed demeanor but Bruce was still extremely uncomfortable. He excused him and Tony followed after him.

Marie waited a moment and followed after him.

She could hear them down the hall but couldn't make out what they were saying. She sneaked down the hall until she could hear what they were talking about.

"We can't tell her. It's my secret to bear."

"We have to tell her- it's dangerous for her not to know."

"She doesn't have to know that I'm the H-!"

"Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner," JARVIS interrupted them.

"What is it, JARVIS?" Tony asked.

"Miss Weinstein is right outside the door."

The men were silent for a moment as they listened to Marie run as quietly as she could back to the lab.

Bruce sighed, "We might as well tell her."

"Well, if you're going to be here, I guess you should know. I'm "The Hulk"."

Bruce and Tony waited with baited breath and Marie stood for a second, completely shocked. She quickly regained her composure.

"The Hulk? As in _The_ Hulk?" Marie had never given much thought to The Hulk, except in fascination. Who knew how he came about but the speculation was so much fun? (Her theory was gamma radiation experiments.)

"Yeah."

"Well, that's..." she paused, unable to think of what to say next.

_...Nice? ...Terrifying? ...Fascinating? ...Weird?_

"I know," he said, seemingly sad. Though Marie thought a load must have been lifted, he shrunk even more.

"No, I mean, that's fine." She smiled at him, trying to get him to smile, "from what I remember, it's been well over a year since the other guy surfaced."

She walked over to him and squeezed his hand. He looked up at the skin contact and she realized she had been a lot more open about human contact since she arrived at Stark Towers.

Bruce looked at Tony and joked, "Is there something _you_ want to share with the class?"

Tony "mmm-hmm"-ed him, not really paying attention, and continued looking at his screen.

Bruce turned back to Marie and said, "Just wait a second, he'll catch up to the conversation in a few seconds."

As soon as he finished saying this, Tony looked up at them and cleared his throat. He smirked and then pressed a button on his keyboard.

"How's this for impressive?"

With a whir of gears and joints, suddenly Iron Man was standing in front of them.

"Well," Marie said casually, "that explains the Iron Man obsession. And the mystery basement."

He opened his visor, scoffed, and immediately started pouting. "I don't see how that's not impressive."

Secretly, Marie _was_ impressed.

_Oh. No. Fucking. Way. HE'S IRON MAN? AND HE'S THE HULK? THIS IS THE COOLEST THING EVER. OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD._

_Wait, what does this mean for me? Fuuuuck. I'm going to be working with two real life superheroes. OH MAN- I wonder if Superman is real?_

"He's not. At least…"

Marie realized, with those four words, that she had said all of that out loud. She blushed, something she had done far too often these days and tried again,

"Oh, yeah, well, you know, that's pretty cool and all…"

Tony started laughing hysterically and Bruce found himself laughing too. Who was this girl who pretended to be so calm and laid-back?


	4. Chapter 4

THE FOLLOWING MAY

Tony checked his Rolex. Marie was late. This was _her _party and he and arrived fashionably late even! Well, not her party, per se, but it was for her, after all.

It was for her as well as the other students lucky enough to land an internship a year ago. They had said their good-byes and kept in contact for the first few months but as she started working on research at U Chicago things got tough. (She never was one for email anyway.)

Bruce walked back with two champagnes, nervously checking things out. He handed one to Tony and quietly sipped one. Tony rolled his eyes,

"That's kiddy wine, isn't it?"

Bruce smiled in a quiet sort of way. He patted him pocket to make sure his Ativan was still there.

Tony threw back his champagne and spoke again,

"I need a drink."

Just as he got to the bar, Marie walked in.

And walk in she did.

Bruce spotted her first, as he was scanning for exits. She was peering around, presumably trying to find them.

However, she spotted Tony first. Bruce could hear him go "heyyyy!" and could see him hug her. Something about this infuriated him. He recognized this and his eyes went wide, he used the last of his apple juice to swallow a pill and 'removed [himself] from the situation' as his infuriating SHIELD-appointed-therapist suggested.

He walked outside in the cool hair and practiced the deep breathing he had been learning for years. His fists clenched and relaxed repeatedly. His body stretched at his new suit but didn't break through. (Somewhere in his brain, he thanked someone for it. He wasn't quite sure who though.)

He forcefully exhaled one last time and then took his first breath in a few minutes that didn't rattle.

Marie, who had followed him with Tony, placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and weakly smiled. They were in it together, once again the science-family they had once been.

##########

Bruce kept an eye on her and Tony got tipsy (his tolerance was so high, he hadn't been drunk in ages) and flirty.

As she flits around, flirting with the various men around the room, Bruce felt some sort of emotion; however, he wasn't sure which.

"Jealous," he suddenly heard Tony next to his ear.

"Wha-what are you talking about?"

"You have a glazed look in your eyes: stunned, stupefied, anaesthetized, lobotomized."

Bruce ran his hands through his hair then adjusted his glasses, "um, no! I'm not. I'm just tired, that's all."

"Genius is the ability to put into effect what is on your mind."

"What are you talking about, Tony?" At this point, Bruce was extremely annoyed.

"That's a Fitzgerald quote. I'm much more well-read than expected."

"Wait, what?"

"Don't worry about it."

"I am not following you at all."

Tony stopped for a second and Bruce stepped in with force, "I am not jealous."

"You protest too much."

"Tony, for Christ's sake."

"No, I know everything about women, including how men feel about them. So, you might say, I know people."

"What are you talking about?"

"Someone in this conversation, and it isn't me, has some feelings for-"

Bruce glared at Tony, his eyes flashing green, and Tony quickly, and wisely, stopped.

Bruce's skin was a faint shade of green and his body was slightly larger, though almost imperceptibly; however, Tony noticed.

Bruce was breathing heavily and Tony showed a quiet side in which he spoke near silently, trying to convince Bruce of his humanity.

Abruptly, a hand appeared on Bruce's shoulder. At that moment, Bruce shrunk back down and his skin returned to a pale peach.

"Bruce, Tony, is everything okay?"

The men looked at Marie, Bruce with a sense of exhaustion and Tony with a look of childish wonder.

Suddenly an explosion went off.

Everyone was silent for a millisecond. And then chaos reigned.

Women in heels stumbled and fell running towards the door. Men pushed each other, desperately reaching towards the door. The few children that were there cried for their mothers, even if they were right there.

The room was quickly filling with flames and yet Tony and Marie still stood there, shocked. Bruce added another reason to fight towards the door- the largest creature Marie had ever dreamed off: massive, green, and… almost completely naked.

Tony grabbed Marie's hand and pulled her towards the door. She was almost dragged along, vaguely catatonic.

"Tony, wait…"

He looked at her, still pulling her arm out. Letting go of her arm, he started screaming over the din of the crowd, "Marie, what's going on? We need to get away from… from the Hulk!"

She quietly walked towards… the Hulk who was looking at her.

A voice cried out over the crowd of people, desperate to leave, "What is she doing?"

She tilted her head, and The Hulk tilted his. Reaching out her arm, she looked at him with a quiet observation.

"Bruce…?"

The Hulk roared. At this moment, Marie became terribly aware she was the only other person- mammal?- in the room. A wash of fright spilt over her. Fighting the instinct to curl into a ball, she stood up taller and spoke with authority,

"Bruce. I know you're in there so let's make this easy. Focus on me, focus on the sensations covering your body…"

She continued, speaking quickly, until, quite suddenly, she ran a few steps up towards Bruce's tangible id. She placed a hand on his overwhelmingly huge and green hand.

Shaking with terror and adrenaline, she watched as the Id paled to a peach flesh color and shrunk smaller.

As she looked at the small, pale (and slightly hairy) back of Bruce, a man in red and gold armor crashed in through the window. He opened his visor,

"Hey, babe! Where's the Hulk?"

The next thing Marie remembered was waking up back in her apartment at Stark Tower.


End file.
